This is a huge win for American ranchers and every American who wants to know where their beef actually comes from.
The order gives the U.S. Department of Agriculture 90 days to review its legal authority to require country-of-origin labeling for beef and analyze what mandatory labeling would mean under today’s market conditions.
From there, USDA may move forward with new or amended regulations. If additional authority is needed, the administration can develop recommendations for Congress.
In other words: mandatory country-of-origin labeling isn’t back yet. But for the first time in years, there is now a formal process underway to determine how to bring it back.
And after years of talking about this issue, advocating for transparency, and asking where the beef in the grocery store actually comes from, at Good Ranchers we think this is a big deal.
A Long Time Coming
For a little background, Country of Origin Labeling law (better known as COOL) required retailers to tell consumers where their beef was born, raised, and harvested.
But in 2015, Congress repealed mandatory COOL requirements for beef and pork. Since then, shoppers have often had no clear way of knowing whether the beef in the grocery store came from an American ranch or thousands of miles away.
At Good Ranchers, we’ve never stopped talking about it.
We’ve spent years telling Americans to find a source they can trust. We’ve talked about the amount of foreign beef entering our country and pushed for greater transparency. And through it all, we’ve continued partnering exclusively with American farms and ranches.
Because we’ve always believed that Americans deserve to know where their food comes from.
This Could Be a Big Win for American Beef
When foreign beef and American beef sit side by side without mandatory country-of-origin labeling, one of the biggest distinctions American ranchers have can be harder for consumers to see: they raised it here.
Bringing mandatory country-of-origin labeling back to beef could make that distinction much clearer.
It could give families more information about what they’re buying, give American ranchers greater recognition for the beef they raise here at home, and make it easier for consumers who want American beef to choose it.
There’s still work to be done before that becomes reality. But after more than a decade without mandatory COOL for beef, this executive order is a significant step toward putting country of origin back on the label.
At Good Ranchers, we’ve always known where our beef comes from. We’re hopeful more Americans could soon have that same transparency at the grocery store.
What Happens Next?
Now, the clock starts on a 90-day review.
The Secretary of Agriculture, working with the U.S. Trade Representative, will review what authority already exists under federal law to establish mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef. USDA will also conduct an economic analysis of what bringing mandatory COOL back would mean today.
Once that review is complete, there are essentially two paths forward:
If USDA determines it already has the legal authority, it may issue or amend regulations requiring country-of-origin labeling for beef.
If additional authority from Congress is needed, the administration may instead develop legislative recommendations to make mandatory labeling possible.
So no, country-of-origin labeling for beef doesn’t change overnight with this executive order.
But after more than a decade without it, the federal government is officially taking a new look at how mandatory COOL for beef could return.
And that’s a major step toward the transparency American consumers and ranchers have been asking for.
As more details about the executive order and its implementation become available, we’ll keep you updated on what it means for American ranchers, American beef, and the meat you see at the grocery store.
For now, we’re celebrating a major step toward the transparency we’ve been fighting for.